Tales of Bleachy the Bard
by Eradona
Summary: Oneshots and Omakes from the world of Harry Potter and the Order of the Bleached Phoenix and Bleach and the Half Blood Prince. More information inside! All characters from both worlds.
1. Chapter 1

**So - not Part Three, but this is the Story with the One Shots I mentioned in HBP. So - here's the deal. If there's a scene I didn't write, or someone you want to know more about (you really like the Vizards, and I didn't show enough of them) send me a PM. If you want, you can even write the whole story. I'll just tweak what needs to be tweaked an put it here, with credit going where it is due (that's how that Grimmjow/Nel Omake was done, BTW). The only caveat: it has to fit my storyline, past and present, and what I have planned. In other words - this is YOUR space. Deal?**

**And as always, I do not own HP or Bleach.**

_**:Inner Hollow Talking:**_

_:Zangetsu talking:_

_Ichigo talking to Zangetsu/Hichigo_

* * *

Chapter 1

"Get out of my way!"

The members of Squad Four looked up at the frantic woman who was shoving people left and right as she hurried down the hall, followed by two others who were trying to keep her calm. Those that could dive out of her way did so, those that were unable to, had the misfortune of being slammed into a wall or knocked to the ground.

She finally grabbed hold of one poor unfortunate Soul Reaper and hauled him up by his Shihakusho, causing him to drop his tray with a clatter.

"Where is he?" she demanded to know. "Where is my son?"

"S-son?" he stammered fearfully, baffled by the question.

The second woman pried her hands off of him and stood the trembling Soul Reaper up straight, where she put a comforting hand on his shoulder while her husband managed – for the moment – to restrain their companion.

"Please, we're looking for Ichigo Kurosaki, he was brought in just a short time ago," she explained gently.

He blinked at them, his growing wide with understanding. "Ichigo-san? You're Ichigo-san's mother?"

"Yes," Masaki replied with a great deal of impatience, "Now please, _where is he_?"

"He's this way – I just came from there. The Captain herself is working on him," he replied, turning and hurrying back the way he had come. "I am Hanataro Yamada –"

He brought the trio directly to the room where Ichigo was being worked on by Captain Unohana, as well as her third and fourth seats. Also in the room, watching quietly was none other than the Head Captain Yamamoto.

"I thought I sensed a ruckus," Captain Unohana said mildly with a brief glance at the woman, "however it is usually the kind of noise I associate with the Eleventh Squad."

Masaki walked forward slowly, her eyes focused on the still, pale form lying on the exam bed in front of her, the top of his robe wide open so they could work on him. The last time she had seen her son he had been nine years old – a child. Now he was grown up – a young man – and a very handsome one, she thought, until she saw the scars that graced his muscled torso. Her hands clenched into fists when she saw them.

"How is he?"

"We are keeping him stable," Unohana replied, "He was hit several times with a very powerful curse…"

"The killing curse has no effect on a Soul Reaper," Masaki interjected.

Unohana shook her head, not moving her gaze from her patient. "This was not the _Avada Kedavra_," she replied, surprising all except for maybe the Head Captain that she knew the spell – and its effects. "As you know, there are a number of spells that cause death. This feels more like a blasting spell. Your son was able to harden his _reiatsu_ into a very effective shield, which protected him somewhat, but it still did a great deal of damage."

After giving the Captain a long, calculating look – how did she know so much about spells? – she reached out to gently stroke her son's hair. It was soft, still as soft as it was when he was a child, especially for hair that spiked wildly wherever it wanted to. "Can you do anything?"

"We can keep him alive and stable – until Lieutenant Abarai returns from the world of the living."

She gave the Captain a puzzled look.

"Let's just say that there is something there that can save his life," Unohana said with a faint smile. She glanced over at the Head Captain. "Will they be able to get back through the gates?"

Yamamoto nodded. "I sent an escort to the West Gate to wait for them."

#

"Ikaku – what are you doing here?" Renji asked when he saw the Soul Reaper that was lounging at the Gate with Jidanbo, waiting for him. He had had to come back through Urahara's Gate, not the normal Senkaimon, because of who he had brought with him.

"The Head Captain sent me here to hurry your ass along," was the reply.

"Is he worse?" Renji asked worriedly.

"Well, he ain't getting any better."

"Ah, in that case –" turning to one of the people who had accompanied him, he scooped her up bridal style, and then tossed back over his shoulder, "follow along at your own pace!" and took off at his quickest flash step.

"Did he just basically tell us to 'keep up'?" one of them asked with bemusement.

"Sounds like it."

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, hell."

Jidanbo watched as the group vanished. "Hope the kid's gonna be okay," he said to himself as he settled back down to his job.

#

The more she stared at the scars on her little boy's body (because no matter how old he got – Ichigo was always going to be her 'little boy'), the angrier Masaki got. It did not help that Yamamoto, Unohana, and that Yamada kid – who appeared to worship the ground Ichigo walked on – were able to name each one and describe in detail how he'd gotten them. The ones that freaked her out the most: the one that crossed his waist, which had nearly cut him in half, which had been given to him by Aizen; the one he had received from Byakuya, which was barely an inch from his heart (if he had missed, or Ichigo had moved…); and there was one along his scalp, which looked like it would have taken off the top of his head had Ichigo not managed to avoid it.

A man with wild, dark red hair suddenly burst into the room, in his arms a teenage girl around her son's age. She had long, auburn hair, large gray eyes and, Masaki noted, a figure that probably had men thinking very indecent thoughts. He put her down gently, and she ran immediately to the bed, and to Masaki's surprise, the Fourth Squad's officers backed out of the way for her, pulling Masaki with them.

"_Sōten Kisshun_, I reject!"

A golden bubble immediately surrounded Ichigo.

"Thank you for coming, Inoue," Unohana smiled at the girl.

The girl smiled back at them. "Not a problem! As soon as Abarai-kun said that Kurosaki-kun needed my help, I threw my school things at Midori-chan and came with him. Sado-kun came too," she frowned down at her shield. "This is really dark magic, isn't it?"

"Yes – he was facing that Voldy person and a number of his Death Eaters when it happened," Renji explained grimly, "he didn't go down easily though, and the Captain went Bankai in order to give us time to get him and Potter out of there."

"Harry?" a chorus said from another part of the room. Renji turned to look at the couple standing there. "Was he all right? Was he hurt?"

"Nothing that won't heal quickly," Renji replied. He looked over at the Head Captain. "Someone else was killed at the battle, though – we tripped over him on the way over there. The Captain had Kira bring him back here."

"Who?"

Renji glanced back over at the Potters, apologetically, before he answered, "Sirius Black."

"Sirius? He was killed? He's here now?" James Potter exclaimed.

"He's being looked over…"

"Hanataro, please find Black-san and bring his friend to him," Unohana instructed.

"Yes, Captain," Hanataro nodded, and before James left, he and Lily shared a silent look, accompanied by a nod on her part. It would be better for her to stay here, with a rather volatile Masaki… and the pair nearly got run over on their way out the door and had to leap out of the way as three more people entered the room at a run.

"Better late than never," Renji muttered when he saw them.

"It's starting to resemble King's Cross Station in here," Lily started to say, until she saw Masaki striding towards them, a glower on her lovely face.

"Masaki –"

"Don't Masaki me!"_ Bam_! Her fist connected with Isshin's chin, causing him to drop at Yamamoto's feet. The Head Captain looked down at his grandson and raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. "You blithering idiot! You call yourself a father? Have you seen our son? Have you seen the condition he's in?"

"Ah…" Isshin rubbed his chin as he slowly got up off the ground, noticing that everyone had cleared the space around them. "No."

"Wrong answer!" she snarled, grabbing hold of his hair and swinging him around to throw him into the wall. "What kind of father lets his son nearly get killed time and time again and does nothing? Have you seen how many scars he has? He's not even twenty years old yet and he has more scars than an entire squad of Soul Reapers!"

"She has a point," Chad said in an undertone to Renji, who nodded. The pair had come together to form a shield behind Orihime, who had gone wide-eyed at seeing the fury Ichigo's mother was showing. To try to placate her somewhat, she instructed Shun'o and Ayame to get rid of the scars – which she really should have done a long time ago, and was ashamed she had never thought of it.

"And you, Kisuke Urahara –" she turned on the shopkeeper, "some friend and mentor you are!"

"ME?" Kisuke took a step back, "What did I do?"

Lily hurried forward to try to calm her friend, although inwardly she knew exactly how she felt. Had that been Harry in that bed, instead of Ichigo… they would have had to tie her down and drug her. "Masaki, please, try to calm yourself – this is a hospital…"

Masaki looked around for something to brain the pair of them with, and the only thing available that she could see was a zanpakuto. She picked it up.

"Masaki!" Isshin protested when he saw this.

"What?"

"That's Ichigo's zanpakuto! You can't use that!"

She narrowed her gaze at him, before her eyes dropped down to look at the blade in her hands. "Really? This is Zangetsu?" she admired the black blade, turning it over and thinking her son had a really pretty blade, before she said, "Actually, are you _sure_ he wouldn't enjoy helping me bash you two over the heads as punishment?"

The two of them stared at her with shock, and even Yamamoto and Unohana were not so sure that given how much Ichigo had loved his mother, Zangetsu would not allow her to wield him, when there was a surge of _reiatsu_ from the blade, almost in response to her statement… and then, to everyone's shock, Masaki was holding the familiar Shikai form of the blade.

"Interesting," Yamamoto murmured, as Isshin and Kisuke gaped as Masaki raised the blade to point it at them.

So not only was Masaki pissed at them, it appeared that Zangetsu was, as well.

However, Lily had been right about one thing – this was a place of healing, and this had gone on long enough. If Masaki wanted to chase her husband around the Seireitei with Zangetsu later, he was sure even Kenpachi would be betting on the outcome of that race. Right now however…

"Enough," he stepped into the fray, placing his hand on Masaki's and forcing it down. "Beat him over the head when you are outside and not in a treatment room. Turn him into a rabbit if you want to. _Later_." He stressed the word later. He took the zanpakuto from her and stood it against the wall. "And you," he addressed Zangetsu, "Seal yourself." There was a sulky pulse of _reiatsu_ from the zanpakuto, but it remained in its Shikai state. Yamamoto sighed and shared a look with Unohana. Petulant, like its wielder.

"Ahem," Unohana said, "if you are interested…"

Masaki hurried back over, to see that Orihime had taken down her shield, and when she also saw her son was smooth-skinned, the way he should be, she gave the girl a grateful look, before she turned back to look at Ichigo.

His color was better, and he was breathing easier, she saw. She picked up his hand, and noticed how calloused it was from fighting. Someone – she did not know who – brought her a chair so she could stay at his side.

At some point they were joined by Yoruichi, who wanted to know why Zangetsu was sulking. Everyone shushed her, and looked nervously at Masaki. The former head of the Shihoin clan gave her old friend a knowing look, accurately guessing what she had tried to do and also, having met Zangetsu himself, figuring that the zanpakuto would have gone along with it.

Periodically Orihime would work a bit more on Ichigo, not satisfied with her own work – or that he was not waking up.

He finally started to stir after three days, when he entered what Unohana said appeared to be normal sleep. She appeared even more pleased when he rolled over on his right side on his own accord, probably, she theorized, to get the pressure off of his back. This actually allowed Orihime to target the area that had been hit by the curses without disturbing him further.

#

Ichigo felt the warmth on his back, and knew it for what it was: Orihime's power. He sighed and buried his face into the pillow, too tired and sore to wake up.

_**:You need to wake up, King.:**_

_Do I have to?_

_:He is correct this time, Ichigo. Just wake up, once, and then you can go back to sleep.:_

_Okay, okay._

Ichigo struggled to open his eyes.

"Ichigo, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes," a voice pleaded with him.

_No, he thought, I'm dreaming, it can't be…_

_**:That's why we tol' ya t' wake up,:**_ Hichigo's smug tone made Ichigo want to go in and smash his face in. Or turn him into a rabbit so he wouldn't have to listen to him.

At first, everything was blurry, but slowly, his vision sharpened and he found himself staring at –

"Mom?" he whispered, not daring to believe it was true.

"Ichigo!" she smiled at him, and the next thing he knew, he was being drawn into her arms and into a tight hug. "Look at you, all grown up," she whispered in his ear.

Ichigo felt his eyes sting with tears as his arms went around Masaki. "Mom – how…"

"Yamamoto," she explained, making him lay back down, "he sent out notices, looking for Lily, James and myself. So of course we had to come looking out of curiosity…" she quickly explained to him how they had run into Soifon, and had been escorted back to the Seireitei.

"Renji never said…" he whispered, not taking his eyes off of her. She hadn't changed, not one bit from how he remembered her.

"I think everyone wanted to surprise you," Masaki replied, reaching out to brush his hair back. "My little boy, all grown up," she said again, making Ichigo blush.

"Mom," he protested half-heartedly.

"Look at you, though – so handsome," she teased him, enjoying the blush on his cheeks after seeing him so pale, "the girls must be going crazy over you."

Ichigo winced, thinking about the problems he'd had all year with girls. "That's something I don't want to talk about."

"Why not?" she frowned playfully at him. "You don't think your mom can give you advice about girls?"

"Not unless it's how to get rid of them," he moaned, rolling his eyes.

This puzzled her; was her son gay? "Don't you like girls?"

"I like _one_ girl – I'd like the rest to go somewhere else and leave me alone," he muttered.

Now puzzled even more, Masaki poked gently at him. "Tell me," she ordered.

Ichigo squirmed, and she only gave up when he yawned. "Later," she said leaning over to kiss his forehead, "I want all the details. For now you can sleep."

Over the next few days, Ichigo continued to sleep a great deal while his reiatsu recovered. Every time he woke, his mother was there, fluffing his pillows, making sure he was comfortable, he was getting plenty of liquids. In general, she was being a mother.

Hanataro was in charge of restoring his reiatsu, so the Seventh Seat alternated with Orihime in working on him. At one point while he was lying on his side he noticed Zangetsu standing in the corner. He propped himself up on his elbow. "Um," he blinked at his zanpakuto, "Why is -"

"What, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked.

"Why is Zangetsu in his Shikai state?"

For a moment there was dead silence, and then everyone started talking at once - including Zangetsu and Hichigo. Between the clamor in his head, Chad's hemming, Renji and Orihime trying to talk over each other, it started to give him a headache.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, "One at a time!"

Slowly and with some input from Zangetsu, the story came out.

"Mom?" Ichigo said with some shock.

"Silly boy," Yoruichi said from the doorway, "You remember your mother the way a nine year old child would. She was the center of your universe - a child's universe. You need to see your mother as an adult - a very strong willed woman. She would have to be to handle your father, and keep him serious."

Ichigo stared at her, his eyes wide.

"You forget, I knew your mother - a different side of her - than you did," Yoruichi continued, "Whenever your father got too wacky, she would smack him back into line."

"Uh..." he didn't know quite what to say.

Yoruichi sauntered over to reach out and muss his hair, which elicited a growl from him. She grinned down at him. "Don't worry so much about it," she said, "You just need to get to know her, adult to adult."

"I... Suppose."

"I think he needs some rest," Chad said helpfully, getting up to leave.

"I do have to get back - I'm on my lunch break," Renji nodded at them before following him out.

"I'll come back and work on you some more later," Orihime said as she followed the others out. Yoruichi started to follow them out when Ichigo stopped her.

"Yoruichi - what happened after I lost consciousness?"

"You mean between the time you got hit, and Voldemort made his escape?"

"Was it bad?"

"Well," Yoruichi drawled, "You're lucky you didn't hear all the names Rukia was calling you. She was really freaking out. Momo and Harry weren't far behind her in panic-level..."

Ichigo winced. Ouch, he thought.

"Mm, Byakuya had to shield us with his Bankai so we could get you out of there, and Dumbledore could create a port key to get the rest of the kids back to Hogwarts. After that..." she gave him a toothy grin. "The fun really began. I had a real blast with Malfoy Senior, running rings around him. And I think we can say with one hundred percent certainty - Voldemort does not like the color pink. Or flower petals."

Ichigo choked back a laugh - he could imagine how much of a nuisance Byakuya had made himself. Since he knew very well what it was like to fight the Sixth Squad Captain's Bankai, so he amused himself with the image of Old Moldy trying to fight Byakuya Kuchiki - and finally running like a scared rabbit.

"The Minister and the Aurors finally arrived - and it was an eye opener for them, to realize that Voldemort was really back. It was a moment of true vindication for Harry and Dumbledore, and those people who believed in them."

"Finally," Ichigo murmured, laying back in the bed. "Finally."

#

Masaki peeked into her son's room, to see him sitting up in bed, his eyes closed, his zanpakuto across his lap. She stood there and watched him quietly, knowing that he was talking to Zangetsu, and did not want to interrupt. There was a shimmer of _reiatsu_ around the blade, and the meat cleaver shrank back down into its sealed state, after which Ichigo slumped wearily back against his pillow.

His mother hurried forward, taking Zangetsu from him and putting it on the table next to the bed. "Enough," she said, "Don't push yourself."

"I don't understand," he said, looking down at his shaking hand, "It's never taken me this long to recover before."

Masaki turned to look at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I've had holes blasted through me and bounced right back..." he shook his head, not seeing the shocked look on his mother's face.

"HOLES?"

Ichigo jumped and looked at her, his eyes wide. "Um..."

"Just how big were these 'holes'?"

"Um..."

"Ichigo..." her voice dropped low, "What kind of 'holes' are we talking about?"

Ichigo winced, wishing he'd never opened his mouth.

"Spill it, young man. NOW."

Ichigo gulped, seeing the angry look on his mother's face, and finally told her about Ulquiorra.

_**:Damn, King, you better reassure her somehow - she looks like she's about to faint...:**_

"Mom - really - I'm fine..."

"Fine? You were DEAD."

"Well - not really..."

"Not REALLY?" Masaki was quickly approaching hysterics.

"Well... I had Hichigo - Instant Regeneration..."

"Is that supposed to reassure me?"

"Um... Yes?"

Masaki gave him a furious look, which had Ichigo slumping back down in the bed.

"Mom - please -" Ichigo pleaded with his mother, "It over two years ago. And - I never told Rukia about it..."

Thankfully, that got her mind off Ulquiorra. She had been trying to pin him down about the girl that he liked, but he'd been very slippery about who she was. She'd been able to tell that Orihime had liked Ichigo; but her son had been very - casual - in his dealing with her. She had wondered if it had been Tatsuke, remembering how close they had been as children, but there had been no response at that line of questioning either. She had tried grilling Yoruichi, but - that woman was too fast for her, and an expert at getting out of situations, just like a cat.

"Rukia?"

"My girlfriend," her son admitted with a faint blush. "Rukia Kuchiki."

Now Masaki knew where she had heard the name from. Soifon had told her how Soul Society had found out about Ichigo - and how he had initially gotten his Soul Reaper powers: Rukia Kuchiki. So, she mused, it appeared as if the time they had spent together had deepened into something else.

"So," she said, sitting down, deciding to give him a pass on the other subject, "tell me about her."

As Ichigo told his mother about Rukia, describing her in quite a bit of detail, she realized something.

Her son was very much in love with this Rukia of his. She could tell, from the way he talked about the color of her eyes, and the way she moved when she fought...

Outside the room, two Captains stood, listening quietly.

"Do you think he is ready to return?" Head Captain Yamamoto asked.

"As long as he does not exert himself overly much; he should be fine. I am wondering how much of his reluctance to leave is because of his mother," Captain Unohana replied.

The Head Captain nodded, and pulled a butterfly out of his sleeve. "I believe it is time for Albus to come fetch my grandson."

"Are you ever going to tell him?" Unohana asked, watching the butterfly flutter off.

"Some day; I've been waiting for his father to tell him." he saw the look she gave him and harumphed. "You are correct; Ichigo will probably figure it out himself, before Isshin ever gets around to it." he gave her an identical look. "Will you ever reveal your secret to Dumbledore?"

Unohana smiled serenely. "I'm waiting to see how observant he is," was her demure reply.

The old man snorted. "I am afraid we may both be left waiting."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Unohana replied, turning to enter the room.

Yamamoto watched her go before he followed her, thinking that secrets sometimes had teeth.

It was best to be careful that they not turn around and bite you.


	2. Chapter 2

**OK, to elaborate about what I've written about this one-shot series; THIS IS PRIMARILY YOUR SITE, not mine. I'm leaving it open to you, and I mainly just want to be the EDITOR on it, not the primary writer. I want to see your stories there, your work: Sort of like one of those compilations... Andre Norton, Mercedes Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley - they all did something similar (well, published, anyway, LOL). All I really want to do is tweak them to make them publishable and give credit to the writers. So - don't be shy people – if you've ever wanted to write something but didn't because you were afraid to and didn't have anyone to clean it up, this is your chance. The only requirement is it has to follow the storyline that's been shown/planned out. **

**And as always: Bleach and HP belong to their respective owners, we're just borrowing them for a little while. **

**And now, due to popular request… we head off to Greece. **

* * *

Chapter 2

They had been practicing their Apparition all weekend, Apparating back and forth between the Head Master's office, the Astronomy Tower, and the Room of Requirement. Hogwarts allowed the Head Master to do many things it did not allow the others to do, and that included temporarily lifting restrictions on Apparition – but only for those specific people, and specific locations.

One professor waited in each location: Snape in the Room of Requirement, McGonagall in the Astronomy Tower, and Dumbledore in his office as they practiced going from one location to the next.

Things had been going rather routinely; they had been teaching Toshiro how to Apparate and being the genius he was he had quickly gotten the hang of it. The other three Soul Reapers needed to improve their technique, and the others to learn, because despite all their practice, only Uryu was close to Apparating.

They were going in rotation, one at a time; and it was Ichigo's turn to leave the Head Master's office and Apparate to the Astronomy Tower. He started focusing on the instruments, the telescopes, and the pictures of the Greek Astronomers that were always interrupting their lectures... one in particular was extremely annoying, always going on about how he had once taught his classes on the Acropolis in Greece itself...

And he found himself starting to panic when he did not arrive instantly at the Tower. It should only have taken him as long as it would to perform several flash steps (given the floors and corners) but the trip was taking far, _far_ too long.

And then there was finally daylight – but he was outside – and off balance. Ichigo had a brief glimpse of tall white columns, before he was tumbling backwards ass over tea kettle. As he was falling, he was vaguely aware of screams – both in his inner world and the outer world. He didn't know how many steps he tumbled down, but he landed in one of his spectacularly bizarre positions. Those same voices chattered around him in a variety of languages: too many for him to sort out, as disoriented as he was.

"Ow," he finally said, making an effort to sort himself out and disentangle his limbs.

"No no no! Don't move!" someone pressed him back down as he struggled to get up. "That was quite a tumble you took."

"Eh?" Ichigo blinked at him, a little surprised to hear American English. The man leaning over him looked up.

"Does anyone here speak -"

"I speak English," Ichigo cut him off, drawing his attention back to him. _Where the hell was he, anyway? _He certainly wasn't going to find out lying on his stomach – on – steps. Broken, old, _ancient_ – steps. _Oh, shit – what the hell had he gone and done, now_?

"Concussion," the American said decisively.

Ichigo tried turning to look at him, which caused a shooting pain to lance through his head – and which had the immediate effect of causing his stomach to furiously revolt.

"Oh, shit," he mumbled, managing to drag himself to a sparse patch of grass next to a cracked pathway before he started heaving.

_:Please don't do that, Ichigo.:_

_**:Yes, please. Even the Old Man here fell off his perch with your little trip to wherever the hell it is you decided to go.:**_

_:At least I didn't get ill the way you did.:_

_Please don't argue, my head can't take it. And I am _not_ cleaning up after you!_

_**:Aw, King...:**_

_Shut up! I have a freaking headache! And I don't know where the hell we are!_

_:I think that should be your first order of business, then...:_

"Definitely a concussion," the American diagnosed grimly, "If you can't remember where you are, how you got here, and moving your head just a bit is causing _that_ to happen."

Cautiously and cursing himself for speaking out loud, Ichigo very, very slowly looked at the American.

"What are you, a doctor?"

"Well, actually -"

Great. Ichigo had fallen straight at the feet of a doctor. Just what he needed.

"Honey," a woman plucked at his sleeve, "Um, you're an Ob/Gyn..."

Ichigo groaned and hid his face in his hands as he heard Hichigo snicker. Of all the fucked up luck... the doctor was a – he – Ichigo found himself blushing just at the thought. Okay just hang in there – Professor Dumbledore will be here soon. He'll figure out where you are –

"Here's some ice water," someone handed him a bottle and a quick glance at it showed Ichigo it had not been opened. Not only that – he couldn't read the language on the bottle. However, it was just the thing he needed to rinse his mouth out he thought, not wanting to think about what the idea of the foreign symbols on the bottle meant. In addition, the accent of the person who had handed him the bottle had sounded – Russian.

_:I'm not sure,:_ Zangetsu said hesitantly, _:but I believe this may be a tour group of some kind.:_

_A tour group?_

"I have some plasters for his head," another accented voice said to the doctor, who cleaned a gash on Ichigo's head with some water from the bottle before covering it.

Ichigo could hear the mutters – who was he? Was he part of their group? No one remembered him before he had taken that spectacular tumble down the stairs; in fact, he had simply appeared out of nowhere. Should they summon medical assistance? Granted, the American appeared to know what he was doing, but perhaps the boy should go to a hospital or clinic?

Great, he thought, as the American doctor's wife returned with what looked like tiny replica of the goddess Athena. Athena? _Athena_? Oh... oh hell...

_:Ichigo...your thoughts right before you Apparated...they were of the Acropolis...:_

_I fucking Apparated to fucking Greece?! _His mental voice rose to a near shriek.

_**:Sheesh, King, lower the volume! You aren't the only one with a freaking headache!:**_

"It's a flashlight," the doctor's wife was saying as she handed the tiny Athena to her husband, "it was all I could find."

"Good enough," he said to her, tilting Ichigo's head back and shining the light in his eyes.

"Well, if it's a concussion, it's slight," he said, puzzled, "I'm looking for -"

"Dilated pupils, I know. My father runs a clinic," Ichigo replied. He also knew his stomach travails were from the extra long trip he had just taken.

"Ah..." The doctor nodded, and Ichigo endured the doctor's gentle probing of his head as he searched for a head injury. He also quizzed Ichigo on the other symptoms – and even the Soul Reaper was starting to wonder if he was slightly concussed, as he did have several of the symptoms.

Ichigo heard some confused murmurs, and carefully looked up; he nearly cried with relief when he saw the familiar robes and beard of Professor Dumbledore walking quickly towards him. A quick wave of his wand and they were the only two still mobile.

"Well," the Professor said, his blue eyes twinkling with some amusement when he reached the distressed Soul Reaper, "This is one for the record books. How did you get here?"

"Um...I really don't know..." Ichigo said with some embarrassment. "I was starting to wonder how I was going to get back."

"Well, Miss Kuchiki and Miss Hinamori became most distressed when your _reiatsu_ disappeared; Mr. Hitsugaya wondered if Aizen had managed to capture you somehow. So, since we did not know where you had managed to Apparate to, I had to use a Thestral to track you down," the Professor indicated the creature, which apparently had just realized that Ichigo was there and had started to investigate him. He gave the Thestral an irritated look.

"What are they, Bloodhounds?" he muttered under his breath.

"When it comes to Soul Reapers, it would appear so," the professor found this amusing, as well as Ichigo's reaction to the creature.

Wonderful.

"So – I've already modified everyone's memories; we should leave as quickly as possible."

"You mean – actually get on and ride a Thestral?" Ichigo took a step back when he realized exactly how the professor intended to return to Hogwarts. Oh, no. No, no no... Hichigo started cackling, while Zangetsu sighed.

"Well, I'm not Apparating. I don't have quite the range you do, my boy, not anymore."

Ichigo stared at the Thestral, and then slowly turned to look over his shoulder at the ruins of the Parthenon. He looked back at the Thestral, who had started to nibble on his shirt, and swallowed thickly. Ride something that gave him bad dreams? He gave the professor a weak smile and held out his now-empty water bottle.

"Port key?"

* * *

**Okay, I know it's just a snippet – but it wasn't a large scene to begin with. Although, right now I am working on a brief one-shot that is actually after the third book (it won't really give anything away, plot-wise) but I had to write it after I watched Spirited Away again for the umpteenth time…that should be ready in another week or so. So it will be kind of a three-way cross-over.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! We have our first guest author! I know it isn't the Spirited Away xover I promised, but that's taking a little longer than I anticipated. But this is a really cute little chapter written by ****Arei-The Peridot Dragon**** (here's her profile page: www. fanfiction u / 978571). I think you'll really like this entry, 'cuz I do! Enjoy!**

**Oh, and if anyone else was thinking about working on the same scene… no reason why we can't have more than one, right? So don't give up if you are. **

* * *

Chapter 3

_(Starts off with events during Chapter 33 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Bleached Phoenix, written by me, so you don't have to go back there and reread it unless you want to. Ichigo has just turned Kenpachi into a rabbit.)  
_

"Ahem," Yamamoto finally said, after getting his unforeseen break in protocol under control. "Captain Kurotsuchi."

"Hmm?" the Twelfth Squad Captain jumped a little and turned a startled gaze to the Head Captain. He in particular had been most amused at seeing his verbal sparring nemesis transformed into a rodent.

"You have a rather rare opportunity here. Since we don't know how long this condition will last, I suggest you make the most of it and gather what data you can – without dissecting him or killing him, mind you," the Head Captain ordered sternly, "We do rather need him operational and in one piece." Mayuri's eyes lit up with a fiendish glee as Ikkaku and Yumichika looked at each other, with concern.

"Nemu, gather him up quickly and let's get back to the lab! Hurry it up, girl; we may not have a lot of time!" Mayuri snapped at his daughter; he was already running through what kind of tests he was going to want to run on his nemesis, now that he had him at his mercy, so to speak. Mayuri would have to send young Kurosaki a thank you card for this little gift of an opportunity. Perhaps he would not dissect his friends…

"Yes, Mayuri-sama," she replied in a monotone. The Kenpachi-rabbit, sensing the peril he was in, tried to run, but Nemu was even faster than he was, and successfully snatched him up and carried him back to her father, and the pair then raced back to their lab with the frantically kicking Captain Rodent.

"Uh… I think we should go with them…" Ikkaku said, watching them run off with their Captain.

"I agree," Yumichika nodded, and the pair hastily excused themselves to follow the mad scientist and his beautiful Vice Captain to the Twelfth Squad.

"Ichi, how long is Kenny going to stay like that?" Yachiru asked, "Because he could be really fun to play with…"

Renji looked over at Ichigo, who had slumped against him tiredly, his eyes partially closed and his hair a dull shade of brown. He looked back at Captain Unohana. "I don't know about dinner, here Captain…" he said to her, as Toshiro patiently explained that Kenpachi would probably turn back to normal sometime within the week. With Ichigo's spells, it was hard to say for certain, because those he was good at lasted longer than normal, and those he wasn't, well, he had trouble getting them to work at all. Transfiguration was something he was obviously extremely good at. Yachiru pouted; could he turn her into a rabbit? Because it looked like it could be fun...

#

To say that Kenpachi, Captain of the 11th Squad was not amused would have been the understatement of the year. Nemu had him firmly gripped by his ears, which surprisingly hurt...A LOT. When he got back to normal he was going to kick Ichigo's ass for this, hell he was tempted to kick the Old Man's for giving the crazy bastard of the 12th Squad the idea of experimenting on him!

He crossed his paws as much as he could and if anyone looked at him at that moment one would think that he was sulking. Thankfully he could still feel spiritual pressure and could sense Ikkaku, Yumichika and Yachiru following him and the Freak. He winced slightly as they came to an abrupt halt right outside the 12th Division, the halt causing him to swing forward and cause further pain to his ears. _'Damn weak rabbit form!_' he thought to himself.

He focused again and felt that the others were closing in on his location. He would have gone pale if he could because he could sense that it was Yachiru that was closest to him and not the two idiots. He began to struggle as violently as he good in Nemu's grasp trying to get free. She held him up looking at him with her cold eyes and then reached up and stuck him with a syringe. He squeaked indignantly at her nerve. _'Stupid idiot!_' he thought, _'what the hell do you think you're doing!? Release me or I will beat you to a pulp with your own arms!_' Of course Nemu didn't hear him and she turned to look at her father.

"Captain, I have injected him with a sedative."

"Good! Don't want the fighting monkey getting away before I'm done with him!" Captain Kurotsuchi laughed darkly as the doors opened.

Kenpachi's eyes grew heavy as he struggled to fight off the effects of the sedative. The last thing he heard as he lost consciousness was Yachiru's voice.

"Let go of my KENNY!"

'_**_' was his last thought.

#

When Kenpachi awoke his vision was blurry and everything had a pink tinge to it. He winced and shook his head, feeling his ears flop about. _'Damn it, still a f'in rabbit_.' He sat up on his haunches and looked around slowly, his nose twitching rapidly as his form took in the scents of the room. Scent of roses, check. Scent of cookies, check. Scent of hyperactive sugar loving girl that always rides on his shoulder? Nothing!

He let out a soft squeak of success as his vision cleared to show an empty and very VERY pink room. Looking around he nearly passed out in relief as he noticed that the door was wide open. He scrambled off of the table he was sitting on and rushed for the door.

"Bad Kenny!"

He heard her voice and he almost whimpered in fear as he forced himself to move faster. He knew what Yachiru did to her pets; it was why she never had one for more than a week: mainly because he took them away before she killed them with her 'love'. He was picked up suddenly in a firm grasp and hugged tightly against the little girl's chest.

"I love you Kenny! I'll take good care of you while you're like this!"

Kenpachi found himself suddenly dressed in a small animal sized pink tutu, tied to a small animal sized chair as Yachiru served tea and cookies talking in a high and annoyingly sweet voice.

He'd take Captain Kurotsuchi's experiments any day over this hell and swore one day he would pay Ichigo back for this.

* * *

**Now for the serious Author's Note: What the Bloody ****** is Tite Kubo doing? He pretty much invalidated every single fanfiction on this site! Even the ones that TRIED to stay close to canon… are now not (bangs head on desk). **

**Ah well. Just so you know: I don't know how he's going to proceed from here, but I'm going to continue as if this never happened. Simply because I have no clue how the hell I would work it in.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay – now, keep in mind this will occur AFTER the events in Part 3 of my series, when I finally get around to it, so I am trying very, very hard not to give anything away. If you're very eagle-eyed, you may notice a few hints of what I have planned… I've also broken it up into two parts, as I'm rewriting the ending a bit, but I didn't want to keep you waiting for it.**

**Sorry this took so long, but I got sidetracked with a short IchiRuki western I started, and is almost completed, loosely based on the Marty Robbins song "Big Iron" (gotta love those old time folk/western songs – they're practically whole plots in themselves). On the other hand, I have exactly – 1 page of _Bleached Hallows_ written. Yea, I know (smacks hand). Bad me.**

**And as always, I do not own Bleach, HP or in this case, Spirited Away.**

* * *

Chapter 4

Head Captain Yamamoto stared at the calendar and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Who did the inspection last month?" he finally asked his Lieutenant, who was standing nearby waiting patiently.

"Captain Unohana."

"Ahh. That would make this month the Fifth Division's turn."

"It would be Captain Kurosaki's first inspection. He may not even be aware that the bath house even exists."

"It is customary for an experienced Captain to accompany a first time Captain to explain the procedure to them," Yamamoto said as explanation. "Do you think Captain Unohana would agree to go again this month?"

"Ahem, well – The Fourth is somewhat busy right now," Sasakibe replied, "Apparently Squad Eleven had one of their infamous training practices…"

Yamamoto winced over how busy that would make the Fourth, and what Unohana's reaction would be if he asked her to leave at this time. "Say no more," he sighed. No, Retsu would not like it if he asked her to accompany his grandson to the bath house. Neither would Byakuya Kuchiki, who would be going next month, and Ichigo would have to accompany him as well. While Captain Kuchiki would go, as he would consider it his duty to train the younger Captain – who was also his brother-in-law, he would not be happy to have to go two months in a row, and might see fault where there was none. The problem was, to fully understand what was required of him Ichigo should go with another Captain at least three times before he would be able to go on his own. The Head Captain mulled over the problem, and which Captains were available to him for this inspection. Yamamoto also thought about his grandson's relationship with those same Captains. Another possibility: sending for help to the World of the Living; all of the Vizards had done this, as had Yoruichi, in their time as Captains, so they would all be familiar with the process…

"Send all of the files I've notated to Ichigo for review," Yamamoto instructed his second, "And then have Captain Ichimaru come and see me immediately."

#

Ichigo sighed and put his pen aside as he finished the last of his paperwork. After being forced to use a quill at Hogwarts for three years, he had put his foot down and purchased a large supply of pens the last time he had been in Karakura Town to visit his friends and Karin. Momo and Cedric had both stolen several boxes of them when they saw how quickly he was able to finish his work with them. Another two boxes were available for general usage by the rest of the squad, but he was pretty sure several had grown legs and walked off, never to return (and he meant figuratively, not literally – although that was also a possibility, as well). Momo had complained that Nemu had had stolen hers at the last SWA meeting, beating Matsumoto to the punch. He knew Rukia kept swiping them as well; of course, if hers walked off, there would be hell to pay: hers were all Chappy pens, so anyone seen with a Chappy pen was going to be visiting the Fourth Division with a severe case of frostbite.

He looked up when Momo entered the office, several files in her hands.

"More paperwork?" Ichigo groaned when he saw them.

"Yes and no," she replied, putting the files on the desk. "The Head Captain sent these for you to go over; he wants to see you as soon as you finish with them."

Curious now, Ichigo looked at the name on the file. "Yubaba's Bath House? What is that?"

"I'm not entirely certain; I do know Aizen went once a year when he was Captain," she replied, "So I checked the files and pulled what was there. They look to be – inspection reports. I also went back through the archives, and there are inspection reports as far back as when Shinji was Captain."

"_Inspection_?" Ichigo blinked at her. What the hell were they inspecting a bath house for? His curiosity piqued, he opened the first file and began to read.

#

Yubaba was in a foul mood. She could not believe that she had yielded and given that child a job! What on Earth had she been thinking? She must have been out of her mind! All she could do now was hope the brat failed so miserably Yubaba was able to turn her into a piglet and end it.

She tapped her fingers with agitation on her desk, having the feeling that she was forgetting something important; something very, very important. Her gaze drifted over to the calendar, and she stared at it with agitation, trying to remember what it was she had forgotten…tomorrow was circled. Actually, it was not circled – it had a triangle drawn around it. A black triangle.

Yubaba blinked as she stared at it, a sense of dread growing as realization dawned on her. Her eyes widened and she groped for a bell pull with a shaking hand, and when she had grasped it, she yanked on it. A loud klaxon rang out, causing all of the employees of the bath house to scurry about with shock and some concern. They all gathered below a walkway and waited nervously for the boss to appear to tell them what the emergency was.

Yubaba hurried down and came to a stop, where she stared down at everyone.

"The bath house will not be opening for business this evening," she announced, slightly out of breath, "The train and ferry have already been notified. Today and this evening we need to spend scrubbing this place from top to bottom! It must shine! Sparkle! I don't want to see a speck of dirt anywhere!

Tomorrow is inspection day!"

The bath house suddenly turned into a beehive of agitated, nervous activity as the employees all raced for their assigned duties, some running in circles first, as they panicked over the word 'inspection.'

"Sen, come with me!"

A ten year old girl struggled to keep up with the woman who had just summoned her, weaving in and out through the mob of agitated, chattering workers who would have knocked her down had she not avoided them.

"Come on, keep up!"

"Lin, what's an inspection?" She panted when she came to a stop.

"Once a month a Captain from Soul Society comes to make sure we are following regulations," Lin explained as she filled two buckets with soapy water. "Here – you do the railings, I'll do the stairs."

"What's 'Soul Society?'" the girl asked as she bent to her task.

"The afterlife, I suppose would be the best description," Lin replied, frowning down at the stairs as she scrubbed. "Soul Reapers are the military, the peacekeepers, guardians of the souls that pass over, and they protect both the living and the dead from Hollows."

"Hollows?"

"Souls that don't cross over in a certain amount of time become Hollows – murderous, mindless creatures that feed off the souls of others. Soul Reapers purify them and send them on their way. The most powerful Soul Reapers become Captains – and each month, a different Captain comes here to inspect the bath house and make sure that the seals and protections that we need to avoid attracting Hollows are properly in place."

"Are Hollows really that dangerous?" Sen asked, pausing in her cleaning.

"Well, they devour souls in order to become stronger. The stronger the soul, the tastier it is to a Hollow; and all of the spirits who come here are usually strong," Lin replied grimly, "That's what Yubaba is going to be doing all day – checking all of the seals and protections to make sure they are up to strength."

"And if they aren't happy with what they find?"

"A fine equal to a month's income, and she'll get dragged in to face the Head Captain himself – I understand he's a fierce old dragon. The boiler man told me she had to face him once before, and she came back blithering like an idiot. She doesn't want to do it again."

Sen gulped and started scrubbing harder. Hollows sounded horrible, and terrible, and she never wanted to see one, especially with the descriptions Lin was giving her of them.

The Head Captain however, sounded far, far worse.

#

Ichigo stood in front of Yamamoto, a scowl on his face. He'd read everything in the files that Momo had pulled – having gone back as far as when Shinji had run the Fifth Squad. The idea of having to inspect a freaking bath house for spiritual misfits irritated the hell out of him, and he could sense a bit of irritation from Gin, as well, but the Third Squad Captain managed to hide it underneath his usual grin.

"You'll leave at daybreak; Captain Ichimaru knows the way," Yamamoto ordered. "You'll also accompany the next three Captains in rotation: that would be Captain Kuchiki, Captain Komamura, and Captain Kyoraku – to ensure you are familiar with the procedure. Next year you will be going by yourself."

"Tomorrow?" Ichigo asked, surprised, "So soon?"

"Is there a problem with tomorrow, Captain?" the Head Captain asked, opening his eyes slightly to look at him.

Ichigo sighed internally – he didn't think his grandfather would accept his answer. "Ah – no Sir."

"Well then, you had best prepare yourselves," Yamamoto ordered, dismissing them.

Ichigo grimaced. "At least it's only once a year," he muttered to Gin as they left.

"Unless you are training someone, and then you get lucky and get to go more than once."

"Sorry," Ichigo threw his friend an apologetic look.

Gin shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Seriously, the only other people I'd rather you go with on your first trip would be First's Vice Captain or Captain Ukitake."

Ichigo frowned slightly. "What are the requirements for going? A Captain's rank?"

"Bankai. Renji did fill in a few times, but since he was the only Vice Captain with a Bankai that we knew about –"

"Ikkaku and his secrets," Ichigo muttered. Well, that secret was out of the bag – Kenpachi had spilled it after ordering his Third Seat to "use his full power, dammit, and stop being a wuss."

"Exactly. He and First's are the only ones. And First's always does the Squad One inspections for Yamamoto."

"I wonder…" Ichigo mused, "If magic would be a sufficient replacement for a Bankai."

Gin gave him a long, appraising look.

"It's a thought. It would give us an extra two inspectors, especially since Captain Ukitake can't always make it. And the Head Captain does not want Tenth doing inspections yet."

Ichigo coughed to hide his laugh. "I'm sure Toshiro likes that."

Gin smirked. "Of course not. Hopefully soon I'll have Ran-chan achieving hers, and we'll have another body."

"Rangiku? Really?" Ichigo was surprised as he knew her zanpakuto was on the lazy side. He would have to speak to his grandfather about magic being a substitute, since it did not appear as if Momo would be achieving hers any time soon. She just didn't have the reiatsu for it. Cedric, on the other hand…

"You don't realize what happened – when you destroyed the Hogyoku the way you did, all of the stolen reiatsu returned to its original owners, if they were still alive, so Rangiku got hers back. She's strong enough now to achieve it."

"I'm glad," Ichigo said softly. Gin had told him and the Head Captain why he had joined Aizen. It's why the two felt such a bond with each other – it's something that Ichigo would have done, with no hesitation, had it been Rukia who had been the one who had been attacked the way Rangiku had been.

And he hadn't hesitated to say so, either, when Yamamoto had broached the subject of giving Gin his title back. In fact, he had even had a nose-to-nose confrontation with Soifon over it, to everyone's amusement, while Matsumoto had sobbed all over Gin, getting him soaking wet.

"He's a traitor and should be executed!" Soifon had shouted.

"Why? Because he didn't follow the rules?" Ichigo had shot back at her.

"Yes!" she had nearly flown at him, to stand barely an inch from him.

"Well, too damned bad!" he had glared down at her. "I'd have done the same thing – hell, even more – if it had been Rukia."

"We all know what lengths you are prepared to go to for the Kuchiki girl, Kurosaki; you're nothing more than a lovesick –"

"Have a care with your words, Captain Soifon," Byakuya had cut her off, his tone cool, "and think about what _you_ would have done if the victim had been Yoruichi Shihoin." His words had caused a snicker or two – as everyone knew the extent of Soifon's hero-worship of her predecessor.

"Enough," Yamamoto had banged his cane on the floor ending the argument, although from the expression on his face he had been rather enjoying the scene, "Shall we vote on it?"

From that point on, Gin had been very cordial to Ichigo, and the two had eventually become friends.

"Get some rest – I'll meet you at the Gate at dawn." He paused as he was leaving. "Hopefully if we can get this done quickly enough, you'll be back in time to be able to take Rukia-chan out for your anniversary. I'm surprised the Head Captain forgot that that is tomorrow."

Ichigo gave him a sickly expression and went back to his division to inform Momo and Cedric he would be gone most, if not all of the next day.

And after that, he still had to tell his wife…

#

"Sen, wake up. Wake up, Sen," Lin shook her young friend awake the next morning.

"Eh?" Sen blinked blearily up at her, "Is it morning already?"

"Yes, we need to get ready, have breakfast and be prepared for when they arrive."

Sen yawned. "Oh, right."

Everyone was on edge, and it did not take much to cause a fight to break out. Nerves were on edge, and the workers of Yubaba's bath house fidgeted and continuously watched the area where the gates were to open.

It was finally a frog spirit that raised the alarm; he had been put on watch for the simple reason that he was able to detect their arrival a few minutes ahead of time.

As Sen watched, a glowing set of doors appeared, and two black butterflies flew out, followed by two men, one silver haired, the other with bright orange hair.

Lin gasped, and there were murmurs in the crowd, while Sen stared at the younger man, the one with the orange hair, wide-eyed.

_No_, she thought, _it couldn't be_ –

"Ichigo?" she whispered.

"What are you muttering?"

"The orange haired one – I know him –"

Lin scoffed at that. "How can you know a Captain?"

"I'm telling you: I used to live across the street from him. His sister Yuzu was my babysitter – his name is Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki."

Lin gave her a doubtful look, but turned to listen what was being said once the two Captains had reached Yubaba, who had bowed deeply in front of the two Captains.

"Captain Ichimaru, I had not expected to see you again so soon," she was saying. There were rolled eyes at the tone of voice she was using, and from the fleeting expression on the face of the orange haired Captain, he was not fooled by it.

Captain Ichimaru waved a hand negligently. "Ah, we have a new Captain at the Fifth Squad, and of course that means one of us needs to walk him through the procedure."

"Oh, of course!" Yubaba turned to the scowling young man. "I am Yubaba, the owner and proprietress of this establishment."

"Ichigo Kurosaki," was the brusque response.

Lin and several others around Sen, who had heard what she had said about her babysitter's brother, gasped, while Yubaba bowed even more deeply.

"It is an honor to meet the hero of the Winter War and the Savior of the Spirit World!"

For a moment, Kurosaki looked like he had eaten something particularly distasteful as he shared a look with his companion, before the pair followed Yubaba into the bath house.

Sen watched them leave, a sudden feeling of sadness overtaking her. "This means that he's dead, doesn't it?" she said, feeling tear slide down her face, as she turned back to look at Lin. Some of the workers who had been excited at having a hero in their midst, quieted down when they heard what she said.

"Oh, Sen," Lin whispered, taking the girl in her arms to comfort her. A few of the others also gave murmurs of consolation to the girl, who had rather quickly endeared herself to them, despite being human.

"His father was a Soul Reaper, his mother was a witch," a new voice interrupted them.

Sen looked behind her. "Haku!" Some of the others looked at him resentfully, and left them. Haku was not a favorite among the workers of the bath house, and despite Lin's warnings to stay away from him, Sen continually sought him out as he had been the first one there to help her.

"He was born a spiritual entity, and one of their researchers put him in a special body that turned him fully human," Haku continued, ignoring the reactions of the other workers. "He became able to use his Soul Reaper powers when he was fifteen, and when he was seventeen, he started to attend a school for witchcraft and wizardry in England – his mother's heritage. It was while he was studying there that he was offered – and decided to accept – the offer to become Captain of the Fifth Squad."

"How do you know all of this?" Lin demanded to know, suspiciously.

"I was ordered to research the war, and I found him to be – interesting," Haku replied, looking away.

"What's this – war – you keep mentioning?" Sen looked between the two of them.

Haku frowned. "Three Captains of Soul Society betrayed the others, although one of them was a double agent – Captain Ichimaru. Their leader, Sosuke Aizen, the previous Fifth Squad Leader, wanted to overthrow the Spirit King. Ichigo Kurosaki was the only one powerful enough to stop him."

Sen was having trouble seeing her old neighbor as some unbeatable powerhouse. Granted, he'd been getting in fights for as long as she'd known him, but still – he was only what, twenty years old or so?

"Sen, do you think he'd remember you?" Lin asked her.

"I don't know; his sister used to complain that he was horrible with faces and names."

"It doesn't matter; she's human. And that's against the rules," Haku said in an undertone, "Once they see her, Yubaba is going to be in a world of trouble. The truth will be out."

"They won't hurt Sen?" Lin asked, still suspicious of Haku's intentions.

Haku shook his head. "Kurosaki? If even a fraction of what I've heard about him is true, he'd level this place to the ground before he'd let anyone hurt her, whether he remembers her or not."

They decided then that Lin would take Sen down to Kamaji in the boiler and have her wait there, as Yubaba never escorted the Captains there, and always left it to Haku. She hated going down to the boilers, and always turned them over to someone else at that point. Kamaji had nodded when Lin asked him if this was true; it was a rare day that brought Yubaba down to his boiler room. So now all Sen had to do was to wait…

* * *

**Yep, you'll have to wait a bit for part two, sorry. Like I said, I'm rewriting the ending a bit. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this was so late getting out to you, but it got a little long and I wanted to cut it back. Oh, and as for the time frame for this – it's about a year after the events in Book 3 are projected to end.**

**I know you all are waiting for book 3, but I've got that stupid Western (mentioned last chapter) stuck in my head and I want to get that finished up before I actually start Bleached Hallows. I do have a timeline and rough outline, and some specific scenes plotted out. But that's what the holdup is... sorry :(**

* * *

Chapter 5

Ichigo nearly screamed with boredom; he felt it would have been more productive if they had just let Gin take him through and show him what he needed to know, instead of letting the old witch try to confuse him. More than once Gin pointed out something that she'd left out, which was something she had hoped to have them overlook. Whenever that happened, Yubaba muttered under her breath, not at all happy.

No hope of that; Gin was far too thorough to let her get away with anything. There were only a handful of Captains who would be just as conscientious: Soifon, but she was anal retentive; Unohana, who never missed anything, but Ichigo's relationship with her right now was a little uneasy, and she was letting him approach her when he was ready; and Byakuya, because it was part of the job. And he was anal retentive. Hell, he probably went over the place with a white glove. Thinking that, he started dreading next month's visit with his brother-in-law.

Ichigo nearly sighed with relief when Yubaba passed them off to one of her 'aides' - an entity – Ichigo refrained from calling him a boy, even though he appeared to be younger than Toshiro in age – named Haku.

There was something very – _familiar_ – about Haku's _reiatsu_, even though Ichigo was certain he hadn't ever seen the boy before. It was – the best Ichigo could describe it was watery. In some ways it reminded him of Toshiro's, just not as cold.

While trailing him, Ichigo studied the dark haired – something or other as he led them down to the boiler room, deftly fending off remarks from Gin, who very obviously knew him.

"No memories yet?" Gin asked him suddenly as they walked down a long set of dark stairs.

Haku glanced back at the Third Squad Captain. "No."

"What?" Ichigo looked from one to the other, not understanding what they were referring to.

"Haku can't remember who he is – or where he's from." Gin frowned. "Although I sense a new 'but' in there that I haven't heard before."

"Amnesia?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Not – entirely," Haku said slowly.

Ichigo frowned; like Gin, he heard a lot more in that statement than Haku was saying. "Well, your _reiatsu_ feels familiar somehow, although I'm sure we've never met." Ichigo looked at Gin. "Can you feel it? How similar it is to Toshiro's?"

Gin frowned. "Now that you mention it, yes – I see what you mean. It's like it has the same base…"

"Water, but not ice or snow. And his name – it's just – not quite right, somehow."

Haku stopped short and stared at Ichigo. "What?" he asked, stunned. Not _right_? What was he saying?

Ichigo sighed. "Your name – it's right, but – not quite right. Like part of it's missing."

"Missing…or stolen…" Haku murmured to himself, frowning. Both Soul Reapers stared at him curiously, and Haku explained how Yubaba's contracts worked.

"Unless someone reminds you of your name, or you have something to remind you of what it is, then you very quickly forget it."

Gin and Ichigo glanced quickly at each other, Ichigo's expression questioning. Gin gave a brief shake of his head and a shrug: no, he had not been aware of this. It was the first he was hearing of it. If he was not aware – then Yamamoto was unaware. Gin knew that Ichigo was also given info that the rest of them were not, as part of his training with the Head Captain in preparation for succeeding him. Such information would have been in the packet that Yamamoto had given him to review on the bath house, or he would have been told privately. However – the expression on his face said otherwise.

By now Haku had started walking again and had reached a door.

"The boiler room," he said to Ichigo, "It heats all of the bath water." He then explained how the system worked, how the special waters for clients were ordered and sent upstairs to the baths.

The boiler was off, as it was not needed, but kept warm so it would not take much to get it going again. The boiler man – Kamaji – was certainly not the strangest spirit Ichigo had ever seen, even if he reminded him of a spider. Kamaji would most likely send Ron Weasley hiding under a bed somewhere, though, he thought. Also in the room was a girl, who was standing in a corner, watching them with wide eyes.

She too seemed vaguely familiar.

Gin's normal smile – which generally creeped people out – suddenly vanished and he reached out to take hold of Haku's shirt.

"Okay – now what the fuck is going on here?" he demanded to know, Ichigo catching the hint of anger in his voice. "That girl is human – _living_!"

Haku slipped out of Gin's grip. "I know – that's why she's down here – it was the only safe place for her to speak to you where Yubaba wouldn't catch her doing it."

Gin and Ichigo both frowned at this. The situation was suddenly getting highly complicated. Maybe it was a good thing that Byakuya had come this month – by now he probably would have pulled out Senbonzakura and everyone would be fleeing flower petals.

"What's going on that requires so much secrecy?" Ichigo asked, scowling.

The girl inched forward, her eyes on Ichigo. "My parents…" she whispered, and then took a deep breath, "Yubaba has turned them into pigs."

"_Pigs_?" Ichigo's brows rose. He looked over at Gin, who was frowning.

"Maybe you had best start from the beginning," Gin advised.

Between Haku, Sen – whose name was actually Chihiro – Kamaji and the woman Lin who had been peeking around the corner worriedly until Gin pulled her out of hiding, the story came out. How Chihiro and her parents (well, her idiot father – something Ichigo certainly sympathized with) had gotten lost while moving, and stumbled across the empty market, and her parents were subsequently turned into pigs.

"I see…" Ichigo said grimly after hearing the full tale. He had not been impressed with Yubaba to begin with – he liked her even less now.

"It's worse than that," Kamaji said.

"Worse?" Gin turned to look at the boiler man, giving him a look that was wondering how it could possibly be worse.

"They aren't the first – and probably not the last."

The two Soul Reapers stared at him. Ichigo was starting to feel like he wanted to just tear the whole place down and save everyone some grief.

"And what – does she do – with these pigs?" Gin asked, his eyes open.

"Well…" Lin shifted her weight uneasily, "Some of them are used for – breeding."

"Yuck! You mean I could have half siblings that are PIGS?!" Chihiro nearly shrieked. Haku put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her and calm her down.

"But – well – there's a reason why some of us don't eat pork."

Chihiro and both Soul Reapers stared at Lin; Gin was frowning again, and Ichigo scowling fiercely, and Chihiro was now truly freaking out.

"THEY'RE GONNA EAT MY PARENTS?" her voice rose, "What if they already did? What if –"

Haku turned her around and put his hands on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes, calming her. "Chihiro – calm down," he said to her, "They're fine. They didn't kill any of the pigs last night."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, I was keeping an eye on them," he reassured her.

Ichigo was watching the pair closely; there was a bond there, one that went deeper than Haku being the first one to find and help the girl. And despite the familiarity of the _reiatsu_, there was something else underneath it, as if…

"You're a shape-shifter," Ichigo said suddenly, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he realized just what the underpinnings of the _reiatsu_ was – partially a similarity to both Yoruichi and Professor McGonagall.

Haku glanced at him. "Not really."

"Show him, Haku," Chihiro urged.

Haku sighed, and before Ichigo could blink, the figure of the boy had vanished and had been replaced by a dragon. Not a shape-shifter, huh? Right...

"Hm," Gin cocked his head, "So that's your secret."

The draconic head dipped once. In this form, the dragon's _reiatsu_ was even more familiar, and similar to Toshiro's. Ichigo knew he'd run across it before, but he could not quite place why…

"Ichigo," Gin asked suddenly, "do you think you could counteract the spell on the pigs?"

"Eh?" Ichigo looked at Gin, startled out of his thoughts. "Well, it depends on what kind of spell was used, but I can give it a shot. If it doesn't work, I can always just turn Yubaba into a rabbit – or a naked mole rat."

Gin snorted with laughter; he'd heard about the mole rat incident, Toshiro had told Matsumoto, who had reported it to him. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so hard.

"I'm sure having to face the Old Man while you're in such a – vulnerable state – will be quite a lesson," he finally replied. Gin glanced over at Chihiro, who was looking up at Ichigo with nearly worshipful eyes that clearly had his young friend confused, as he kept glancing at her… until Ichigo finally snapped his fingers.

"Hello Kitty."

"What?" came a chorus of baffled voices, except for Chihiro, who had nodded with happiness.

"She had a pink Hello Kitty bike – lived across the street from us in Karakura Town. Yuzu used to babysit for her."

"Yes! And you and Tatsuki-san –"

"Yeah, I remember. We chased off those boys, the ones trying to take your bike. They damaged it out of spite," he nodded.

"But you fixed it."

"Ah…well, we had a bit of experience putting bikes together by then, and fixing them. My two sisters, her cousin, and we put one together for Orihime as well," he shrugged. "Fixing yours was not a big deal." His eyes narrowed slightly as Haku had changed himself back into his human form by now, "so, how do you two know each other?"

"I don't know –"

"We just met –"

The two spoke at the same time, causing Ichigo to sigh. "There's a bond there already Chihiro, that doesn't usually form in a day…"

"Really?" Gin said in an undertone, clearly speaking about Ichigo and Rukia; Ichigo chose to ignore him for the moment.

"Even I can feel it," he continued as if his friend hadn't spoken.

"It is there," Gin agreed with him.

"I know that I've known her for a long time, but – I don't know how," Haku replied, a hint of frustration evident.

"I – can pull some of those memories out, if you want," Ichigo said slowly, "But – it would be better if I did it with Chihiro. I already know her, and her memory is not as messed up as yours."

"Wait a minute…" Lin started to protest, but the look Gin gave her shut her up. Haku did not appear happy, either. Ichigo knelt in front of Chihiro.

"You don't have to do it," he said gently, "And it doesn't hurt, at all. My teacher did the same thing to me plenty of times when he was teaching me."

"It really doesn't hurt?" Chihiro asked nervously.

Ichigo smiled reassuringly. "Not a bit."

"And it will help Haku?"

"I'll just be looking for memories relating to him," Ichigo replied.

Chihiro nodded. "Okay."

She watched as he pulled a long wooden stick out of his sleeve; he stood, tipping her chin up so he could look into her eyes, and pointing the stick at her – a magic wand, she thought curiously – he murmured, "_Legilimens_."

A rush of images flashed in quick succession, so quickly she almost couldn't grasp them before the next one assaulted her. Ichigo finally stopped whatever he was doing, giving her a chance to catch her breath.

"Did you catch all of that?" he asked gently.

"I – I think so…" Chihiro whispered. A pink shoe… a river…"I think – my mom told me about a time – we were visiting relatives in Naruki City. I was really little… my shoe fell in the river, and when I tried to get it, I fell in after it."

"Naruki City," Ichigo murmured, understanding, "Of course!"

"Something – a wave or something – pushed me back to shore…"

Haku was staring at her, and Chihiro's eyes suddenly widened. "Haku – _Ko_haku! The river was the _Kohaku River_! That was you! You were the spirit of the Kohaku River!"

"Well, well," Gin smirked.

"The river was filled in to make room for apartments," Ichigo said with disgust, "That's why you can't find your home. It isn't there anymore."

"Why'd you come here?" Gin asked Haku, "If a river, stream or other body of water vanishes or becomes dead in some way, the spirit is supposed to come to Soul Society. That's how we get our own water to supply Soul Society's needs. What vanishes in the World of the Living should appear in the Rukongai."

Haku frowned. "I don't know, really," he admitted, "In hindsight, I suppose I should have, but – I really didn't want to."

He got several knowing looks, which he chose to ignore.

"What will you do now?" Chihiro asked him.

"Oh, I'll have a very long talk with Yubaba," he said with a faint smile.

"You'll have to wait," Ichigo told him.

"Oh yes – the Head Captain is going to want to chew on her a bit first," Gin's smile had turned feral. "Now – shall we go take a look at those pigs and see if my friend here can break the spell on them?"

#

The small group stared at the herd of pigs packed into the pens, and Ichigo scowled when he saw how many there actually were.

"How many of them were human?" he asked, looking askance at Haku.

"Um – actually, I'm not entirely certain," he replied, a bit embarrassed. "Some of them are workers that upset or displeased Yubaba; others, well, they are, er –"

Gin held up a hand. "Stop, no more. We get the picture." He looked at Ichigo. "Well?"

Ichigo nodded, and held out his wand. With the number of pigs, he was going to have to pour a lot of his _reiatsu_ into the counter spell, if he wanted to hope to overcome the original transformation curse.

"_Finite incantatum_," he whispered. He scowled when he felt the push back, and raised his _reiatsu_ again.

"_Finite incantatum,"_ this time, the pigs bodies glowed and began to warp out of shape slightly, like heat rising off pavement.

"Damn it," he muttered, his scowl growing more fierce. He glanced back at Gin, who nodded at him and surrounded Chihiro and the others in a _kido_ shield. Ichigo increased his outpouring; he had to be extremely careful, or he could kill them if he lost control. Normally no one could even sense him: not even his grandfather. Gin had told him how souls had just – evaporated – in Aizen's presence when the pair had gone to Karakura Town during the Winter War; if Ichigo was not careful, he could cause the same thing to happen.

"_Finite incantatum_!" This time the power he put behind the spell would not be denied, and the transfiguration spell on the pigs broke, turning most of them back into their original forms. Some remained pigs, though. He rather refused to think about what that meant.

The newly restored people all sank to the ground, asleep.

"_Hakufuku_," Gin said, pulling out his phone, "better this way. No questions." He released the tiny group from the _kido_, and stepped outside, while Chihiro ran forward to check on her parents.

"They're okay?" she turned her head to look at him.

Ichigo smiled down at her. "They're just sleeping for the moment." He looked back as Gin returned – with Soifon, and he groaned internally. The stealth force commander was his least favorite Captain… and he was pretty sure the sentiment was returned. She must have been standing by waiting, in order to have arrived so quickly.

Soifon frowned down at the number of slumbering people that she saw. "Is this everyone?"

"No way of really telling," Ichigo said, as Gin told her about the pigs and how they had come to be that way. A disgusted expression crossed her face. She turned around.

"Spread out and find her!" she ordered; the member of the stealth force that had been standing in the doorway nodded and vanished. Soifon then strode out of the building that had been home to the transformed people, Gin and Ichigo right behind her. Once outside, they saw that Soifon had not come by herself. She had brought a large number of her squad with her.

"We'll take care of getting them somewhere far from the bath house before we wake them, and change their memories," she said. "You'll need to take the witch to see the Head Captain."

"That's something I'll enjoy," Gin said, smirking.

"But – our car isn't far from here –" Chihiro started to protest, which got her an angry look from Soifon. Chihiro cowered behind Haku.

"It probably would be best to just put her parents back at their car, and then let Chihiro follow on her own," Haku said, "Not a lot of time has passed, so it shouldn't be too odd for them." Soifon included him in her glare.

"Y'know," Ichigo said out of the blue, staring at his wand, "I suddenly got a hankering for – carrots," he turned to a bemused Lin with a sly look. "Got any?"

"I'm sure I could dig some up," she replied, baffled at this sudden statement, and Gin's amusement.

Soifon froze when she heard his comment and gave him a startled, uneasy look, while Gin chuckled. "Fine," she muttered, "But I'm putting it in the report."

"I didn't expect anything less," Gin said innocently.

They decided that Haku would get Chihiro to her car, while Gin and Ichigo helped to look for Yubaba, with some help from Lin and Kamaji. It was Lin who spotted her, trying to fly away.

"Oh, like hell she's getting away," Ichigo muttered, pulling his wand out again. Gin, still smirking, first cast _Sai_, then _Hainawa_, binding Yubaba's wings against her body. She squawked as she started to fall, until Ichigo with a shrug, used his wand.

_"Wingardium leviosa!"_

Her fall halted, and she started to rise again, much more slowly. Ichigo grinned. "Hey, it worked!"

"What do you mean, 'it worked'?" Soifon asked, arriving with Haku. She glared at him.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "Ah, well, it's a charm – and I still have a little bit of trouble with them." He gave them a somewhat sheepish look. "I might have accidentally blown her up instead."

Soifon rolled her eyes as Gin chuckled and the three Captains went to collect their prisoner, who was glaring at them.

"Are you going to make her easier to get back to Soul Society?" Soifon asked, glaring right back at her.

"I think you should; she'll just try to get away otherwise," Gin advised. Ichigo shrugged. It was a good idea, he had to admit.

"Suggestions?"

"Rabbits are your specialty – and she'd be oh so very portable."

"And very fast and squirmy," he reminded Gin.

"Turn her into a pig and see how she likes it," Haku suggested. Ichigo grinned.

"A pig it is. And if Yamamoto is really angry at her – we can leave her like that and just give her to the Shiba family. They'll know how to handle a recalcitrant pig."

Even Soifon snorted with amusement at the fate that could await Yubaba if that's what the Head Captain decided.

#

Yamamoto stared at the group in front of him, feeling a migraine starting. After Gin and Ichigo had left that morning, he had had a bad feeling about sending the pair of them off together (Things had a habit of happening around Ichigo…) so he'd had Soifon standing by for backup. She'd been in a bad mood over it – until Gin's call for the Stealth Squad had come through. At which point she had started cursing and jumped into the gate, her squad behind her.

As he listened to their story – in particular, Haku's – Yamamoto felt his migraine increase with his anger.

"I see," he rumbled ominously as he stared down at the witch – who was still a pig. The old woman stared back up at him, trembling. Ichigo had left her hair in place, so she looked like a pig with a wig on.

"Did you really think this would never get back to me?" he asked her, his anger making little flames break out along his staff. The only one who did not back away from him was Ichigo – he was the one holding her leash. He was also not afraid of _Ryujin Jakka_; he knew his grandfather would not harm him. "The question only becomes – what punishment should you receive?"

"Actually – we sort of had an idea…" Gin started to say, causing Yamamoto to look over at him. Yamamoto raised an eyebrow as Gin explained what they had discussed earlier; and then he nodded.

"Indeed; I think it would be appropriate to let the Shibas discipline her. See to it. You are dismissed."

"I'll take her," Gin said, reaching for the leash as the small group left the First Division barracks, "You have an anniversary to celebrate."

Ichigo nodded, and looked over at Haku. "Are you going to stay here?"

Haku nodded after he thought for a moment. "Yes, I think I will."

Ichigo nodded again. "You can stay at the Fifth Squad Barracks then; I'll take you out into the Rukongai tomorrow. Come on, I'll introduce you to Momo and Cedric."

#

The next morning, despite the fact that Ichigo was tired due to the late night he'd spent out with Rukia, he was still able to make it to his squad in time to go out to the far reaches of District 80 – Zaraki – in a sector that had been constantly plagued by drought. The severe drought and lack of water was the cause of many of the outbreaks of violence in the area.

"It's very dry, here," Haku said, looking around.

"Yes, it is," Ichigo nodded, "It rains in the mountains and hills there," he pointed, "but it has no outlet."

"You mean it needs a river to flow into," Haku said slowly. Ichigo nodded.

"So we're going to make a river – your river," he replied.

"How?" Haku was doubtful, despite everything he had learned about the young Captain in front of him.

"The group with us – I handpicked them for this little job," Ichigo smirked. "They all have rather specialized skills. Akon is Third Seat of the Twelfth Squad – Research and Development - he'll be the one to pinpoint the best place for us to start. Both Rukia and Toshiro - "

"Captain Hitsugaya."

"Vice Captain Kurosaki."

Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. "They both have ice-snow type zanpakutos. If we need to, they can fill the trench, and we can then melt the ice. Momo's zanpakuto is a fire-type, and Cedric's is an earth-based zanpakuto. More importantly, all of them except Akon are witches or wizards. So what we can't do with our zanpakuto, we can do with magic."

Haku stared at him; Ichigo had put a lot of thought into this project, and he'd gotten permission from his grandfather to take whomever he needed with him. He had also approached Kenpachi, and borrowed a number of grunts from Squad 11, under the direction of Ikkaku and Yumichika. Once Kenpachi, who was from this area, had heard about what he was up to, he had put his Squad at Ichigo's disposal.

Ichigo had thought about asking Professor Dumbledore or his mother to come along, but the new year at the Soul Reaper Academy was just getting started, and things were rather hectic. So they would have to make due with the small group he'd selected. Rukia at least understood how important the presence of water was, as she had grown up only one District lower than this one, in Inuzuri.

Akon took the lead, staring at a tablet he was carrying. He had determined it would be best for Ichigo to deepen and lengthen an existing stream. "This one here," he said finally, pointing, "it ends halfway down the mountain; extend it until it reaches the next river. There's also an underground lake we can tap into that will fill most of the new riverbed for us."

"Won't people be in the way?" Haku asked worriedly. There had been a number of ramshackle buildings on their way out to the site.

"I sent Squad 11 and most of my Squad out earlier; they'll keep people back out of the way. I can go around any towns if I need to," Ichigo replied, drawing Zangetsu. The blade morphed into its massive, deadly _Shikai_ state, which caused Haku to take a step back.

Ichigo drove Zangetsu into the ground, and focused a wordless Getsuga Tensho down through the blade. The result caused Haku to jump in shock, as a deep crevice, at least a mile long and widening as it spread out from the sword, was created by the blast.

"Holy -"

"Impressive, isn't it?" Toshiro asked him quietly, as Ichigo flash-stepped down to continue creating the riverbed. "And that's only his _Shikai_."

Cedric chuckled briefly at Haku's expression as he drew his own zanpakuto and followed his Captain, smoothing out the riverbed and creating shallow and deep spots with his own earth-based power.

Haku just stood there, watching; it was all he could do as the group set to work. Rukia – Ichigo's wife – and Captain Hitsugaya left them as well, but they went up the mountain. Momo told him that they were going to create a deeper ice and snow cover at the top, so that when it melted naturally, it would continue to feed the river. And all the while, it was Akon who directed the group like a General.

"We want to do it as naturally as possibly, and let the contours of the land and then nature take over," Akon explained to Haku at one point. "When you start messing with nature, it can get nasty."

"That's true enough," the river spirit agreed.

When the small group finally went down to examine their handiwork, they found Ikkaku and the other Soul Reapers having a hard time holding back the inhabitants from rushing forward towards the newly installed water supply.

"Having trouble there, Ikkaku, Yumichika?" Ichigo smirked at the pair, who had their hands full, one of them with a pair of children.

"Ha ha, Ichigo!" Ikkaku snapped back at him as he reached out with a foot and snagged a squirmy little brat by his tunic. "They started getting antsy like this the moment they saw the water come rushing by!"

"This is such an unattractive way to behave," Yumichika added with a sigh, as another tried to climb over his head. He plucked the offender off and tossed her at Cedric, who caught her in his arms with an "oomph" of surprise.

"Well, we should be done in just a bit," Momo told them, "We just have to take down the retaining wall between the two rivers and then see what level the water equalizes at."

"Well, make it fast, will ya?"

"All right, all right," Ichigo laughed and flash stepped off, with Haku behind him. Haku figured that he had best go along and meet his new neighbor. The other river spirit was still there, watching them curiously, and even helped Ichigo take down the wall. The three watched as the waters mixed, and to his pleased surprise, the underground water that Ichigo had tapped into had been enough to fully fill the new river, and when the silt and dirt eventually settled, it was going to be a good fresh water source for the area.

"Well, there you go, Haku," Ichigo said, "your new home. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Yes, thank you Captain," Haku turned and bowed gratefully to Ichigo.

Ichigo scoffed. "It's just Ichigo. I don't stand much on ceremony." He turned to the other spirit, who was also a dragon. "And thank you for being so understanding, river-san," he said to it, bowing briefly. The other dragon bowed its head once and then the two river spirits started getting to know each other.

Ichigo returned to the others, and waved them over. "All right, let's go. River's all theirs, now." He looked at the thirsty people eyeing it eagerly. "Although they may want to wait for all the dirt to settle, first."

"Tell them that, but I don't think they'll listen," Ikkaku muttered, dropping his arms and letting the people rush by him.

Ichigo felt a tug on his haori. He turned around to see a tiny girl staring up at him, so he knelt down to get to her level. "What is it?" he asked her gently.

She leaned up to whisper in his ear shyly, which caused his lips to twitch, and he placed a hand on her head. "You're welcome."

Momo giggled. "You do have a way with children, Captain."

Ichigo blushed, as he heard Rukia chuckle and slip an arm through his. And of course both Ikkaku and Yumi had witnessed that...he was never going to live it down.

He glanced back once, to see the people crowding around the river. On the other hand... he enjoyed doing jobs like this. Jobs that did things for people. That actually filled a need, maybe made life a little better, a little more peaceful for them.

Rukia let her hand slip down into his and squeeze it gently.

"Come on, let's go home."


End file.
